The Journey of Trials
by Mystery Dive
Summary: When two friends finally go on a journey outside of their hometown in Hoenn at Eightteen, will their journey together bring their friendship stronger bonds or one day drive them apart due to the Rivalry of all Trainers, and will going after the title of Champion be their only worry in the world? No Pairings as of yet.


"So, you gonna hold up your end of the deal this year?" Asked a voice from outside Tom's window. It was on the ground floor of the two story home in Petalburg. The young man sitting at his computer turned to see his friend in a plain black 'Iron Mawile' T-shirt and a grin plastered on his face. His hair a messy mop of dark auburn hair that seemed to go wherever it so pleased.

"Depends, can you pay for the starters Jake?" Tom asked as his friend hopped through the wide open window grinning. Tom was dressed in a much more polished outfit, a simple polo and brown cargo shorts in comparison to Jake's worn out jeans. "Because you know my Parents won't pay for it."

"Yup." Jake said with a smirk and pulled out an old lunchpail from behind his back. It was old, probably as old as his younger cousin. It was worn out, but the old pictures of Charizard, Blastoise, and Venusaur. "I've been saving up and finally got the cash due to me selling that old Game Cabinet." He tossed the lunch box to Tom who caught it, shaking it and hearing the dull 'patting' of bills patting the side of the old metal.

"You're serious?" Tom asked, looking at his do nothing old friend.

Jake simply nodded with a grin half sitting on the windowsill.

"You know how much work it'll be? Cooking, Training, and Camping for weeks on end?"

Another nod.

"You already have your stuff packed, don't you?" Tom asked with a small smile, and Jake leaned out of the window and pulled up a stuffed backpack and shoulder bag that would hold whatever didn't fit in the other bag. It was clearly already half filled already of supplies.

"You know me too well." Jake said, walking over and taking the pail. "Meet me at the Park, I got a guy that I worked out the Pokemon we're getting. He knows my cousin."

"If you get me mugged, I'm not talking to you again."

"That happened once! You didn't even get the black eye." Jacob simply replied, running off and disappearing down an alleyway. Tom simply shook his head, and began to pack his own backpack and filling it with a few things he felt he might need or miss terribly that wouldn't be too heavy or large.

A few hours later, the two met at the old park near the edge of town. It had old play sets from years ago, though with the newer park being built closer to the center, this one had been 'claimed' by the local trainer population as their battle ground. Most were good enough to fix the damage they caused, or donate a bit of their winnings to the small fund keeping the place intact.

Tom saw Jake talking to a slightly older woman, her hair a light purple with a rather snappy dressed on. An odd device on her wrist looked like a beefy laser pointer and a small box in her other hand that seemed to be some kind of carrier. She glanced up and saw Tom, causing Jake to turn and wave him over.

"Tom, this is my Cousin's friend...well...Kind of. He couldn't make it, so she came instead." He explained, causing Tom to sigh and the woman to clear her throat glaring at the young men.

"If you two are done..." She said, her tone was sharp, words curt, and posture like that of a soldier.

"Or a freaking assassin." Tom thought when she smiled simply and offered the box she held to Jake.

He took the box gently and opened it, inside was mostly foam with a pair of plain red pokeballs with two small symbols on them. One was that of a pair of blue marks and the other what seemed to be a pinkish feather. Jake took out a Pokedex, most likely the one he had gotten from a pawn shop three years prior and scanned it over the balls. After a moment it beeped twice and he slipped it away.

"Perfect," He then closed the box and pushed it into Tom's hand as he offered the old Lunch pail to the woman, she rose a brow before he opened it for her. Her other brow met it's twin higher up when she took a few stacks of the bills counting them quickly and nodding. "It's all there."

"I'm not checking if it's all here." She said simply as a few men who were watching a few battles going on got up and walked toward them. She chuckled as she took the pail and closed it with a snap locking it. "Good thing I didn't find what I was checking for. Or you'd end up fitting inside a match box."

Jake grinned nervously as Tom looked at her with horror. She said it as if she was talking about the weather, no. As if she was eager to see that the pair would fit in the Same box. He glanced to his friend and shrugged before she tossed a pair of balls to them.

"Call it good favor, hope to do business with you again Kiddies." She said and then walked down the road with a few men following. One after five, one after ten, and third after twenty looking around and darting off quickly. The two had left after the woman, deciding to go the Long way home.

The two ended up at Jake's house, they opened the front door and walked toward the living room. Closing the door behind them and looking at each other with grins. They high fived and shouldered their bags.

"You tell your folks?" Jake asked as he fished out a letter from his pocket and put it on the stairwell, written on the top saying 'See ya soon' in his untidy scrawl.

"Yep, they expect me back later tonight but if not. They agreed to let me go." He grinned shouldering his own bag, glancing at the ball in his hand. "Will yours be cool with you just...?"

"My Dad's been telling me if I don't get you to come along, he's gonna make me go with one of my little cousin's." He said with a shrug, clipping a newer pokenav to his belt and shaking it a few times to make sure the buckle wouldn't break. After being satisfied he pulled the ball from his belt and his Pokedex, Tom had picked up a newer model earlier that day. Jake had his upgraded every time a new patch came out, though the old style is something he'd never get rid of.

"So...what are they?" Tom asked, Jake responded by tossing the ball he claimed in the air and releasing the pokemon in the house. A small black figure with one ear looking like an odd red feather, claws ending it's limbs and a pair of red eyes that scanned the room around it before spying Jake and tilted its head as if confused.

"This one is mine," He said, kneeling down and patting the Sneasel's head causing it straighten up as if expected to be hit. Jake seemed to notice and tilted his own head taking his head. "Hey...no worries big guy. I'm Jake, I picked you up off that woman. Don't worry, you'll be happy with me hopefully." He said as he fished out a pokeblock case out of his pocket and offered a Pink block to it.

It was gone in a flash and the Sneasel's belly growled. Jake chuckled and it only grew in volume as the weasel pokemon pointed at it's open mouth of it's claw. "My dad has some pokemon food we can nick, Tom?" He asked looking up with a grin as he lead his new pokemon into the kitchen, pulling some jars of Pokefood out and offering it in a bowl to the Sneasel which began to scarf it down as if it were starved.

Tom pointed his own Pokeball toward the table and squeezed gently on it's edges, causing the ray to shoot out and form the pokemon. It wasn't very large, in fact it could fit in Tom's Pocket if it decided it wanted to slide in. It was covered in bright yellow fuzz and had four blue eyes that seemed to stare up Tom.

Tom reached down toward the Pokemon, and the reaction was nearly instant. The little thing jumped onto his hand, crawled up his arm and nuzzled his face from the shoulder. Tom's reaction was a little more than shocked, nearly falling over as the Joltik nuzzled and crawled to the top of his head. Jake glanced over to his slightly shocked friend as he looked around for the Pokemon.

"Top of your head." Jake said with a grin and pat Sneasel on the head, barely noticing it was filling it's bowl again with more Pokemon food and scarfing it down still. Finally after it seemed the weasel got its fill, and the Joltik found a place resting in Tom's shirt pocket the two trainers looked at each other with grins.

"Ready?"

"I was born Ready."

The two grinned, and stepped out the front door, locking it behind them and slipping the keys into their pockets as they stepped off the front steps. They looked at one another with a simple nod before starting to bolt toward the edge of town. They ran onto Route 104, grinning as it was only noon as they walked along their way. They stayed off the Road, seeing as most were on their lunch break and heading to different places serving food they continued on their way, munching on candy bars as they went.

This was going to be a true adventure.


End file.
